National Police officers have arrested four members of an itinerant criminal gang in Alicante and Los Alcázares following the violent robbery of nearly 53,000 euro from a woman who was attempting to deposit company takings at a bank branch in Alicante.
The investigation commenced after the victim reported that she had been targeted while carrying the cash, which comprised the daily earnings for the business where she worked. She routinely handled the company deposits and was followed by the suspects from her workplace to the bank.
Taking advantage of the fact that the woman was unable to park directly outside the branch, the attackers struck in a quieter spot away from bystanders. One of the men violently snatched the woman’s bag, pulling her to the ground and snapping the strap. The assailant grabbed the money and fled in a waiting rental car driven by an accomplice nearby.
Detectives from the Judicial Police Operational Group at the Alicante Centre District Police Station traced the getaway vehicle back to a car hire company. Officers subsequently identified the two primary suspects, aged 61 and 62, alongside a 36-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman who supplied the vehicle used in the crime.
Police revealed that the gang specialised in distraction techniques across south-eastern Spain, including the “siembra” trick, where victims are tricked into thinking they dropped money at cash points, and the “pinchazo” scheme, where car tyres are punctured to steal items while drivers check the damage. The group had also carried out offences in Hellín and Lorca, where they stole a handbag from inside a car.
All four suspects, who have prior criminal records for similar offences across Spain and had previously been arrested together, face charges of robbery with violence, causing injury, forgery of documents, and membership of a criminal group. They have been placed at the disposal of the duty courts in Alicante and San Javier.
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